229 Lankford Avenue, Charlottesville VA 22902
The stacked contemporary design with a modern Scandinavian feel sets this tower-style home apart from the homes in the adjacent Ridge Street Historic District which runs northwards to W. main street. A south facing full length second floor porch with spanning views of Charlottesville’s mountains to the east. A third floor porch provides a view of Charlottesville’s mountains to the west, the Blue Ridge. Two ground floor patios invite ground floor alfresco dining. Particularly appealing to those who are seeking a green lifestyle, the"thinking-out-of-the-box” Lankford House was the first Passive House in Virginia, offering energy efficiency by employing a whole-house Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) system, triple-glazed fiberglass windows, sustainable materials and 9″ (R-40) double-stud walls.
Designer and builder, Bill Jobes of Jobes Builders, says:
“Passive houses are designed to cut energy use by 80 to 90 percent, Jobes said. Extra thick walls, superinsulation, double-glazed windows, and passive solar heating techniques can almost eliminate the need for heating and cooling, he said, rendering a lot of other green technology essentially irrelevant. Solar, geothermal heat—“they’re all Band-Aids that you stick onto a house that’s not built very well,” he said. “When it’s built properly, you just don’t need it.”
Read the full article at C-ville Weekly.
According to Charlie Hoxie’s video Passive Passion, “One-fifth of our carbon emissions comes from keeping our buildings warm in the winter and cool in the summer.” There are four recreation centers within walking distance: Tonsler Park, Ix Art Park, Rivanna Trail and the Historic Downtown Mall. Transit is a block away.
229 Lankford Avenue Charlottesville VA 22902